UA tops list of freshman National Merit Scholars

The University of Alabama ranks first among public universities nationwide in the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled the freshman class, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp.'s 2011-12 report.

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Staff Report

Published: Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 10:54 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 10:54 a.m.

TUSCALOOSA | The University of Alabama ranks first among public universities nationwide in the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp.'s 2011-12 report.

The University of Alabama ranks first among public universities nationwide in the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled the freshman class, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp.'s 2011-12 report.

File Photo

"We are very pleased that so many of these exceptionally talented students are choosing the University of Alabama," said UA President Judy Bonner in a news release. "They are part of a truly outstanding freshman class that includes more than 1,700 freshmen with high school grade point averages of 4.0 or higher."

UA has 241 National Merit Scholars in its 2012 freshman class, according to the report. Last year, UA ranked second among public universities with 181 National Merit Scholars in the 2011 freshman class. About 645 National Merit scholars are enrolled at UA.

The 2012 ranking also puts UA fourth among all universities, behind the University of Chicago, Harvard University and the University of Southern California, which are all private schools.

Joe Benson, UA's interim provost, said Wednesday that the Capstone's ability to lure more National Merit Scholars is a case of success breeding more success.

"We are becoming more visible nationally," Benson said, "and people are seeing the quality of our academic programs. That's allowed us to attract the best and the brightest of today's students."

UA's 2012 freshman class includes 6,397 students, a UA record. Last fall, more than 26,400 students applied for admission to the Capstone.

Each year, 1.5 million high school students across the nation take a preliminary SAT and National Merit Scholarship test to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program. Of those 1.5 million students, 50,000 with the highest test scores gain recognition in the program. Of those who gain recognition, 34,000 receive letters of commendation recognizing their exemplary academic performance. From this pool, a total of 16,000 of the top students are chosen to be semifinalists.

To become finalists, semifinalists go through an application process that includes confirming that their pre-SAT scores were not a fluke and take the actual SAT. Ninety percent, or 15,000, of the semifinalists are chosen as National Merit finalists and 8,200 finalists receive the Merit Scholarship Award, which is generally a scholarship for a one-time payment of $2,500.

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